Jack
by Emma zooka
Summary: "It was only much later that they found him, outside the fort, on his own, kneeling besides a burned out car." Alex Rider finds a picture. Sabina finds Alex. Spoilers for Scorpia Rising


**Spoilers for **_**Scorpia Rising**_.

For once in her young, teenage life, Sabina Pleasure was at a loss for words.

She'd come home with her mom after a long day of shopping, bustling head to toe with new gear from all the different shops they'd explored in the city of San Francisco, and a huge smile on her face that looked as though it could never be rubbed off. She'd watched her parents grin at each other like best friends, affectionately waiting in the corner as she squealed and laughed looking over _each and every_ _single_ item she'd bought throughout the day.

And then she'd come into Alex's room, bursting with joy, only to see that her happiness had not spread throughout the whole house. He was simply sitting on his bed, staring at a picture that he held delicately in his hand.

"Alex?"

He glanced up, just barely acknowledging her presence before returning his attention to the photo. For a moment, Sabina was thrown. The only thing she figured was that the photo obviously held more importance to Alex than her day of shopping.

Curiosity overcame her, and she gently tiptoed over to where Alex sat, careful not to disturb the silent reverie he was locked in. Sitting down right next to him, she finally took a look at the picture. Only a quick glance was all she needed to know why Alex act the way he did.

It was a photo of him and his guardian Jack. They were standing in front of some religious site, grinning like a bunch of idiots who didn't have a care in the world. Jack was wearing a light t-shirt and baggy shorts, and Alex's clothes didn't differ much from hers. Almost immediately, Sabina knew that the picture was taken in Egypt, mere days before Jack had died.

"She was going to resign."

Alex's sudden words startled her. She blinked, noticing how each syllable he pronounced seemed to grow heavy as they reached her ears. Unsure how to respond, she remained tactfully silent.

Alex didn't seem to care, attention seemingly only focused on the picture in front of him.

"Days before Ian died," he continued, "she was writing a letter to resign from taking care of me. I found it open on the computer when she left to grab some errands."

Sabina felt a great weight settle in her stomach as she took in his words. "Oh, Alex…" she whispered as she watched his control slip, eyes moistening with un-shed tears.

Alex made no further acknowledgement to her presence besides a slight twitch of his hand. "She wrote that she was getting too old to stay at this job, that she felt it was time she finally let go." He took a shuddering breath, and added jokingly, "She _was_ at the age where most normal people started a family."

But Sabina heard the underlying cry below the crude humor.

_I thought _I_ was her family._

She didn't know what to do. Who could _possibly_ know how to comfort somebody who needed so much more that a hug and an _I'm-sorry_. In the end, she settled for awkwardly resting her hand on his shoulder, the way she'd seen people in the movies do when they wanted to let the other person know that they weren't alone. Alex twitched at the contact, but said nothing of it.

"I'm sure Jack still loved you." She tried to sooth him. But almost immediately, he shook his head.

"No." he explained, eyes finally meeting hers. With a jolt, Sabina saw the emptiness in them, the broken soul that lurked beneath the brown irises, so carefully hidden by the mask of a face above it.

"It's not that."

Sabina waited in a patient stillness for his explanation as the Wall of Alex finally broke, a single tear rolling down his cheek. In the end, he only managed to say, "If I hadn't dragged her down with me with the whole MI6 affair, she –" before choking, a shudder running down his back as he finally acknowledged the very thought that had been lurking around in his mind the moment he'd watched the Jeep go up in a ball of fire. The very image that would never stop haunting him to the day. Jack engulfed in a blaze of heat and blood. Jack, not even able to cry out as she burned to –. Alex closed his eyes at the very image.

Sabrina lapsed into silence again. She knew what he meant. If Jack hadn't known about Alex and MI6, she would still be alive, living comfortably back in America, possibly even with a boyfriend or husband. A small question tugged at her mind, but she dismissed it. Alex would tell her on his own when he was ready.

Alex found his voice again. "I wish…" he said as he took a deep breath. Sabina could tell that he was in control again. His eyes grew steely hard again as he stared off into the distance.

"I wish I could have killed that bastard myself. Nice and slow." He spoke the words with such relish that Sabina couldn't help but shiver at his tone. "Make him _scream_ like he'd made the others."

Sabina searched desperately for an appropriate answer, and then slowly shook her head. Alex glanced in her direction and then looked away, not even seeming to listen as she gently said, "But it won't bring Jack back."

His hands clenched into fists. For a moment, Sabina was afraid. Alex had been through so much, far beyond what she had imagined. Could it be possible that he wasn't even _Alex_ anymore? That the lovable, easy going boy she once knew was gone? Forever?

But almost immediately after, he unclenched, closing his eyes and taking in one long, deep, breath.

"No, it won't."

They sat in an unfathomable silence from then on, Sabina with her hand still resting comfortingly on his shoulder, Alex's eyes still drawn to the photo of him and Jack. They were found like this an hour later by Sabina's parents, never having moved a muscle, each one with an unreadable expression on their faces. Edward and Liz Pleasure merely looked at each other, both with the same, knowing expression on their faces, before walking away silently, leaving their children alone with each other.

Alex blinked away tears, struggling to keep his sight locked on the photo of his and Jack's final happy moment with each other, but it was no use. His vision blurred over, and one tear soon turned to two, which turned to three, which then turned into a single, continuous chain of grief. Sabina finally let go of his shoulder to hug him. Tightly. But it didn't help. Not at all.

Because before long, it all tipped over in an avalanche of anger and grief and anguish and pain. Alex opened his mouth and uttered an unbroken, silent scream of rage, tears of streaming down him face as Sabina besides him only tightened her grasp, tears running down her face as well.

The wall of Alex had finally broken; the reason for its demised was left in a photo, forever smiling, grinning at the boy she'd once called her own. Jack Starbright had left a painful legacy, an unintentional legacy, which left its mark on too many souls. Especially on the boy she'd affectionately called Alex Rider.

Jack Starbright was dead, dead and gone. And Alex was all that's left.

**Good bye, Jack. Good bye ten minute cook, housekeeper of spy, sister-like of brother, best friend of best agent. Fare thee well in your quest to find better life.**

**Sigh…I was genuinely depressed when I read Jack's death scene. Blown up in a jeep? Talk about going out in a blaze of fire. **

**The idea for this fic came to me, believe it or not, as I was looking at a photograph. I remember there being some part in the book where Alex and Jack took a picture in front of the historical site where Moses had been found in the bulrushes.(Page 172 if you really want to know)  
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**Saddest part of the book:**

**"But ten minutes later, Alex had disappeared and at first there was a panic among the special forces fighters as they searched for him, wondering what had happened. It was only much later that they found him, outside the fort, on his own, kneeling beside a burned-out car."**

**Sniff….. **


End file.
